I grew up mixed with my father's poetry and vinyl records of great musician poets. Ever since, I have been attracted to spoken word, not the kind that uses speeches as another instrument or decoration, but the kind where you can take a ride and dream your own experiences, hypnotized by the voice, like listening to a siren. As such, it is with great honor that I present you The Dwindlers Dreams - more than spoken word they gift us with short stories filled with magic. Benjamin Dauer brings the music with such precision that it reminds me of a clock ticking perfectly whilst the voice of Michelle Seaman is allowed to wander in our imagination.

Leonardo Rosado

I have kept a dream journal for years. As a poet and visual artist, I love the images that arrive when we're sleeping, and I use these in my work. I also believe in visions or signs. I feel that nature offers us symbolic gifts that can guide us while we're awake.

Each of the four "poem songs" within "Dreams" emerged differently. A singer I once knew described her dream to me while we were sitting in a Minneapolis coffee shop. To honor her vivid description, I wrote "Wenn's Dream." Stuck in traffic in Tampa, and listening to Cajun music on the hip people's radio station WMNF, I heard the first lines for "Pale Blue Dress." I composed "Royal Suitors" from a dream I had about cheating death and playing cards with a friend of mine. I saw the poem "Heart Trip" as I watched a fellow poet on stage during a reading. I remember thinking that while most poets have strong hearts, we are also a bit shy and cowardly about sharing them.

Through the poetry of "Dreams," I hope to momentarily capture what connects and personalizes us through the common experiences of sleep, and our interpretations of the symbols within which we find individual meaning.

Michelle Seaman of The Dwindlers

Short Bio
The Dwindlers are poet, Michelle Seaman, and bassist and composer, Benjamin Dauer. Our musical collaboration began in 2002 in the "Grey Sea" metropolis of Chicago, continued in a home recording studio surrounded by the pine trees and "Pollinators" of North Carolina, and thrives now among the cherry blossoms, gingko trees, museums, and politics of Washington, D.C. The Dwindlers are ambience and imagery. We sincerely thank you for listening.

mastered by panicStudios
photo by Jessica Aliaga Lavrijsen
cover design by Leonardo Rosado
(cc) by nc nd November 2010

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